As I came out of the supermarket that sunny day, pushing my cart of
Groceries towards my car, I saw an old man with the hood of
his car up and a lady sitting inside the car, with the door open.

The old man was looking at the engine. I put my groceries away in my
car and continued to watch the old gentleman from about twenty five
feet away.

I saw a young man in his early twenties with a grocery bag in his arm,
walking towards the old man. The old gentleman saw him coming too, and
took a few steps towards him. I saw the old gentleman point to his
open hood and say something.

The young man put his grocery bag into what looked like a brand new
Cadillac Escalade and then turn back to the old man and I heard him
yell at the old gentleman saying, 'You shouldn't even be allowed to
drive a car at your age.' And then with a wave of his hand, he got in
his car and peeled rubber out of the parking lot.

I saw the old gentleman pull out his handkerchief and mop his brow as
he went back to his car and again looked at the engine. He then went
to his wife and spoke with her and appeared to tell her it would be
okay. I had seen enough and I approached the old man. He saw me
coming and stood straight and as I got near him I said, 'Looks like
you're having a problem.'

He smiled sheepishly and quietly nodded his head. I looked under the
hood myself and knew that whatever the problem was, it was beyond me.
Looking around I saw a gas station up the road and told the old man
that I would be right back. I drove to the station and went inside and
saw three attendants working on cars. I approached one of them and
related the problem the old man had with his car and offered to pay
them if they could follow me back down and help him.

The old man had pushed the heavy car under the shade of a tree and
appeared to be comforting his wife. When he saw us, he straightened up
and thanked me for my help. As the mechanics diagnosed the problem
(overheated engine) I spoke with the old gentleman.

When I shook hands with him earlier, he had noticed my Marine Corps
ring and had commented about it, telling me that he had been a
Marine too. I nodded and asked the usual question, 'What outfit did you
serve with?'

He had mentioned that he served with the first Marine Division at
Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal . He had hit all the big
ones and retired from the Corps after the war was over. As we talked we
heard the car engine come on and saw the mechanics lower the hood.
They came over to us as the old man reached for his wallet, but was
stopped by me and I told him I would just put the bill on my AAA card.

He still reached for the wallet and handed me a card that I assumed had
his name and address on it and I stuck it in my pocket.. We all
shook hands all around again and I said my good-bye's to his wife. I
then told the two mechanics that I would follow them back up to the
station. Once at the station I told them that they had interrupted
their own jobs to come along with me and help the old man. I said I
wanted to pay for the help, but they refused to charge me..

One of them pulled out a card from his pocket looking exactly like the
card the old man had given to me. Both of the men told me then, that
they were Marine Corps Reserves. Once again we shook hands all around
and as I was leaving, one of them told me I should look at the card the
old man had given to me. I said I would and drove off.

For some reason I had gone about two blocks when I pulled over and took
the card out of my pocket and looked at it for a long, long time. The
name of the old gentleman was on the card in golden leaf and under his
name...... 'Congressional Medal of Honor Society.'

I sat there motionless looking at the card and reading it over and
over I looked up from the card and smiled to no one but myself and
marveled that on this day, four Marines had all come together, because
one of us needed help. He was an old man all right, but it felt good
To have stood next to greatness and courage and an honor to have been
in his presence. Remember, OLD men like him gave you FREEDOM for
America . Thanks to those who served...& those who supported them.

America is not at war. The U.S.. Military is at war. America is at
the Mall. If you don't stand behind our troops, PLEASE feel free to
stand in front of them!

Remember, Freedom isn't "Free" -- thousands have paid the price so you
can enjoy what you have today.

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